


In the shade of a tree

by Rowlett



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Gen, Patri needs to chill, spoilers for their flashback chapters and the most recent episodes of the anime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:48:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22339546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowlett/pseuds/Rowlett
Summary: That definitely wasn’t good weather, and anyone that even thought about the possibility of leaving their homes during this time was crazy or stupid.Unfortunately, Licht made friends with people who were both.One-shot about the lives of Licht, Lemiel and Tetia before tragedy struck.
Relationships: Lemiel Silvamillion Clover & Licht, Lemiel Silvamillion Clover & Secre Swallowtail, Licht/Tetia Silvamillion Clover
Comments: 12
Kudos: 50





	In the shade of a tree

That was something incredible, Licht thought. To think he would meet another Four-Leaf magician out of nowhere like this. And a human, even! He didn’t know if that was his lucky day or not, but he did admit to himself that he was very curious.

The two humans looked harmless enough, especially looking at their banter. The younger sister was especially stubborn. “Brother I swear,” she pointed a finger at the older one, “If you keep worrying about so many things at once, you’ll get gray hairs before you even know it.”

Her older brother pouted, clearly not satisfied with his sibling. “Tetia, you almost died inside of a tornado! A Mana Tornado! What am I supposed to be besides worried?”

“You didn’t have to worry about anything,” she clapped her hands and looked at Licht. “This gentleman was kind enough to save me. Right, Mr. Elf?”

Licht paused for a second. Should he say something? He wanted to be friends with humans and understand them, but he wasn’t sure if the feelings were mutual. As much as he wanted to assure Patri they weren’t in any danger…

His thoughts were interrupted by the young woman - Tetia, was it? “See, now he is probably thinking we are a pair of weirdos.”

Her brother only chuckled. “He wouldn’t be the first nor the last.”

With a deep bow, the young human man bowed to his sister’s savior. “Thank you very much for saving Tetia. I’m sorry if we overwhelmed you, this is the first time I've met another Four-Leaf magician like me and I guess I got carried away,” he lifted his head and smiled from ear to ear. “Say, can we start again? My name is Lemiel, and this is my younger sister Tetia. Can we get your name?”

They weren’t even worried about his race. Licht felt like an idiot for the first time in a while.

“It’s Licht,” he said, with a smile similar to the other young man. “And I can say the same. Elves have powerful magic, but not all of us are blessed with good luck. Can I see your Grimoire? This way, you won’t need to be a mother-hen to your sister for the moment.”

Tetia smiled at that. “I like him already.”

The other human made an indignant face, but his voice betrayed his emotions. “Very funny,” he was having fun, too. “Nice to meet you, Licht.”

The other two elves nearby had many questions as they watched their leader shake his hand with a human.

🍀

The storm outside was violent, to say the least. If anyone didn’t know better, they could swear the trees would sooner or later be carried away by the wind. Licht could see the thunder from his window and he was afraid for the little kids in his village. They always hated thunder, especially the sound that came along with them. That definitely wasn’t good weather, and anyone that even thought about the possibility of leaving their homes during this time was crazy or stupid.

Unfortunately, Licht made friends with people who were both.

Lemiel and Tetia were both staring at him, inside of a cottage that was near the place where they first met. The wood was comfortable enough to provide the warmth they needed in those times, and the fireplace was the only thing making any sounds at that moment. There was a small library, built especially for when he wanted to study alone or just have time for himself. It was the first time he brought friends over there.

And said friends were right now on a position called _seiza_ \- he read about that in books. It was a position practiced in a country of the east, and it symbolizes regret and shamefulness. Two things he hoped that Lemiel and Tetia were feeling right now, but judging by their sheepish smiles, the reality wasn’t exactly like that.

Lemiel sneezed. “I guess the mother-hen won’t be me today.”

Tetia repeated the gesture. “No, you won’t.”

“I’m so disappointed in you two,” said Licht, with crossed arms and trying to look angry at them. The keyword was _trying_. “What did you two have in mind, leaving your house in the middle of this storm? Something worse could have happened besides a simple cold, you know! What if I wasn’t nearby? And what about your families, won’t they be worried?”

Lemiel thought about a second and answered with a smile. “Nope. I mean, I informed the people who were important enough, but our family is not exactly the worrying type.”

Tetia, at that moment, had a more serious expression on her face. Bless her, at least it looked like she was taking things seriously. “Yes, some of them probably won’t even notice we left. And besides…”

Licht wouldn’t ask about how lonely that sounded. It wasn’t his place and he had more important things to worry about at that moment. Like trying to be angry at them. “Besides?”

Her face was still serious. “We wanted to see you, Licht. We did not think about the consequences. I apologize.”

These two siblings would be the end of him. He was the leader of an entire clan, but that was the first time someone said that to his face, without any reservations. Licht could feel his cheeks burn from that statement, and how Lemiel had a smug smile on his face. He didn’t know how to answer the two humans, so he tried the next best thing. “W-well… I’m also glad to see you two today. We have a library here, so maybe we can read while waiting for the storm to be over…”

Lemiel quickly stood up and massaged his legs. “Of course! But that position hurts… is this how you feel when I’m too overprotective over you, Tetia?”

“Brother!”

Right, he still needed to think about a way to be angry at them.

🍀

“I don’t think that boy likes me.”

It was a day like any other, with Licht spending time with his two new friends. The other elves were wary of this relationship, but they decided to not say anything for the time being. And by “other elves”, Licht meant only Patri and Raia.

The two of them came to observe the trio from time to time. Raia was like always, sleeping under a tree and being especially grateful for its shade. Patri, on the other hand, kept saying many comments that could be considered rude, to say the least.

Humans and elves were never on friendly terms, but they at least respected their boundaries. So it was natural for that friendship be seen as something abnormal. But Patri didn’t need to be so direct.

“I’m sure he means well,” that was a bad lie and Licht knew it. “He is just not used to having humans around.”

Tetia stared at him, eyes clouded with worry. She knew, together with her brother, that humans were not welcome in that lands - and some of them deserve such treatment, but she couldn’t help but be depressed about it. It wasn’t a good feeling to go to the hometown of your friend and be hated by their entire family.

However, she soon slapped her cheeks and smiled, “I’m sure we’ll get along sooner or later. I was always good with kids, after all!”

“Oh, really?”

She looked down at her feet, “No, not really. But it can’t be that hard, right?”

With Patri, Tetia had a big challenge coming ahead of her.

  
  


🍀

The weather, for once, was good. Lemiel saw the Elf village from afar and he managed to land safely while holding Tetia’s hand. They had a talk and decided to bring something that maybe could make the other elves trust them a little more.

However, their usual reception was not there. The only one nearby was Raia, in different clothes. They were still white, but they were somehow more… melancolic? It could be almost a suit, but made from that delicate fabric that only elves usually wore.

“Hello, mister Raia!” Lemiel waved at the other man, trying his best smile. Tetia followed suit and they soon got near the other. They noticed the lazy elf was holding a pair of white flowers.

“Hey,” he waved back. “Should’ve known you guys would show up today too. Bad timing though.”

Tetia had a small feeling, “Bad timing?”

Raia paused for a second and then pointed at the flowers, “The previous leader of our clan died, he was pretty old, so no one is terribly bad, but it was still a huge loss. Licht is especially down today because now it means no one is there to guide him in the whole leader business.”

The siblings looked at each other with worry on their faces, Raia couldn’t ever get used to that sight, “I knew Licht had a teacher somewhat, but we never knew he was sick,” Lemiel bowed his head, “I am deeply sorry for not being able to be helpful in those times.”

“Goodness, stop it,” with a yawn, Raia continued, “We all were ready for him to die, but Licht wanted the old man to survive just another few years. He is only seventeen, not every kid at this age can be a leader without some supervision. That’s all.”

They didn’t know how to respond to that, so Tetia choose another topic, “Where is he?”

“Licht? Sulking somewhere. We decided to just leave him alone for a bit. He doesn’t need to be around sad people and Patri being a bother.”

“I see,” she said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“How are the funerals in your culture? Are they similar to ours?”

Lemiel looked at his sister with interest. That’s true, they didn’t know much about their culture, did they?

Raia put a hand on his mouth as if he was going to yawn again, “I guess so? Not sure how the differences are but the old man wanted to be buried and everything. It’s apparently easier to be near his family and the earth, and all this spiritual mumbo jumbo.”

Lemiel chuckled a bit. “You are very skeptical with this, mister Raia.”

“What can I say? I was never good at meditating or anything.”

“Well, we would still like to help,” the older sibling continued, “Tetia brought some herbs and seeds for you all. They are often used in medicine and the flowers that grow out of them are beautiful. Maybe they can be buried together with the previous leader?”

Raia looked at the small bag that was right in front of him, waiting for the man to take a hold of it. He didn’t know what to do with it and opted for the next best thing, “I don’t know. You know what? Why don’t you kids go search for Licht and ask him about this? I’m sure he should still be nearby anyway.”

“Are we allowed to do that?” Tetia asked.

“Of course. We just don’t want to bother him, and since we are not leaders we can’t exactly help him,” he paused and stared straight into Lemiel’s eyes. “But you guys are different,” another pause, “You’re friends, right?”

If Lemiel was sweating because of those questions, then no one commented about it. “Y-yes. We’ll search for him. Let’s go, Tetia!”

He took a grab of his sister’s hands and left, without waiting to answer her question. Raia only watched them, amused, “Too easy.”

  
  


🍀

“Oh goodness, I’m sure mister Raia knows we are royals.”

Tetia looked at her brother, that was definitely sweating now. His words were full of worry and tension, but at least they could search for Licht now. “And, what’s the problem if he does?” She asked.

Lemiel paused, both his words and his legs. “To be honest, I don’t know. The tensions between the two races…”

“Brother, you are always the one saying we all can understand one another,” she said, “Are you giving up now?”

The hold on her hand got stronger, “There is no way I will give up, Tetia.” He sighed, “You are right, this is not like me. I should thank mister Raia later for giving us such a fright.”

Tetia chuckled and gave her brother a small pat on the head, “Let’s find our friend and have a talk. I’m sure we can help him in those moments as well. Maybe that’s why mister Raia wanted us to go and search for him in the first place.”

He didn’t think about that. Maybe that man truly trusted them enough to comfort their leader?

The thought made Lemiel smile. With a nod, they resumed their walk, “You’re right again, Tetia. Let’s go, I don’t think this area is dangerous so let’s search for him separately.”

They didn’t take too long to find him. The first one was Tetia, walking in the corners of the local forest while her brother was adventuring in the middle of it. Safe or not, some animals could still be there and Lemiel wanted his sister to be at least near civilization in case something happened again. She didn’t even have a Grimoire yet so he couldn’t help but worry. It’s not like he was a mother-hen, right? Right.

Brushing such thoughts aside, Tetia walked near the river where Licht was sitting, deep in thoughts. He didn’t even notice her steps and only looked back when he saw her reflection on the water, “Tetia? What are you-- how did you… ah, good morning?”

She smiled at the awkward attempt at conversation, “Good morning Licht. Can I sit here?”

He nodded and didn’t say anything else. Trying to play the fool at that time would be useless, since both of them knew what Tetia was doing there at that moment.

“I suppose Raia sent you here?”

She nodded, “He was quite aggressive at it as well.”

“Ah… I’ll make sure to give him a word about it later.”

They fell into silence again, and it wasn’t the comfortable type. Tetia thought about what her brother would do. It was quite simple for him to befriend his new attendent - or rather, to befriend Secré. He would be angry at her if he heard the silent girl being referenced to as some type of servant. Regardless, she arrived at their castle almost as if she didn’t have the energy to talk to anyone and, soon enough, she was right behind her brother and talking to him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Lemiel did the same when they first met Licht. Tetia wished she could be like this.

With a deep breath, she tried to start from the obvious point, “I’m sorry for your loss. Mister Raia told us what happened.”

By us, Licht figured out she meant Lemiel as well, “I’m sorry you two had to visit in such a gloomy day.”

She closed her eyes and tried to be firm, “No, you don’t have anything to apologize for. You are nervous about your position as leader, correct?”

He didn’t answer. That was an affirmation, if anything else. Tetia continued, “I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job, Licht. You are already a great leader, with or without the guidance of the previous one.”

“How can you be so sure?”

She paused, “Well, you are certainly better than the ones at the Kingdom, that’s for sure.”

She wasn’t supposed to say something like this, now everyone will think something is up. Except--

“Your family is not good to you?”

\-- Figures. “When did you know?”

That took a chuckle out of the elf, “You two are not exactly subtle. Your clothes, your language… not to mention the high education and the Four-Leaf Clover. I know about the situation of humans. As much as it pains me to admit, I don’t think they would let people that are not royalty to get a hold of something so rare.”

The first two points made Tetia blush. They definitely should’ve thought about the possibility of people recognizing them through their clothes and dialogue. At the third one, however, she nodded sadly, “Our father is not the most comprehensive man.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t be. I’m the one that came here to try to give you a smile and yet you are the one encouraging me. If anything, this is something that is already proof enough that you are going to be a great leader.”

Licht tried to face to the other side, a futile try to hide his red cheeks, “How so?”

“You have great empathy,” she smiled, even though he couldn’t see it, “Even if we met each other not too long ago, I can feel how deep your kindness is. And you also have a fun side when you are talking about magic with my brother, and treat all the elves as family. At least, from your talks. I would love to see all of them, someday.”

“T-that…” he tried to talk normally, but the beat of his heart was making things difficult, “I’m sure we can do it soon enough. You two are wonderful people, you would be welcomed there by anyone that can understand the situation.”

Tetia thought about the last sentence, and he was probably making a reference to that little boy, Patri. She hoped the other elves could accept her more easily.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Licht, who was trying to hold her hand in such a subtle way, she almost didn’t feel the touch, “Thank you for coming here.”

She gave him the best smile she could make at that time, trying to not appear too embarrassed, “Anytime.”

  
  


🍀

The previous funeral was almost like a restart for the two siblings in the elf village, Raia observed. He looked cautiously as Charla talked in a friendly way with Tetia, almost as if they were friends for a long time. Apparently the two human siblings got some items for Licht, one of them being some kind of special seed to grow flowers. Then they had decided to offer it to the previous leader, before Licht said that Charla would appreciate that more.

After that, many others decided to approach the pair. Lemiel could be seen talking with the smarter ones or, for variations’ sake, to others that happened to be older brothers as well and could share the experience of their siblings being taken away. Or not being taken away, as how it was with Drowa and Eclat.

“He came to me crying the other day,” said Raia to Lemiel, who was trying to take a nap by his side. The shade of that tree was super comfortable. “Saying, _Raia, this is bad, I have no idea about what I should do_. Did you notice something? I doubt Missy is the oblivious type.”

Lemiel chuckled, “She is, unfortunately. But it’s kind of obvious it’s reciprocated. I tried to talk to Licht about it and he said something interesting though.”

“What?”

“He said,” and Lemiel made some gestures with his arms, pointed to the sky, “ _Whatever Raia says, I didn’t cry. He was the one that had a panic attack at the idea of his leader marrying and having someone else to bother his sleep._ ”

Silence at that. And then, Raia put his hands on his face, “That little shit.”

“That’s not a nice thing to talk about your leader.”

“And you? You’re her older brother, I thought you would be more, I don’t know, protective?”

“Are you kidding?!” Lemiel’s eyes were shining like some fireplace in the middle of the night. “If everything goes well, then that means we’ll be family! Isn’t it nice?! And we’ll be able to study together!”

Raia sighed, “Why do I feel like your priority is the second option instead of the first?”

“Your library is much better than ours, you have to admit!” His cheerful voice suddenly turned serious, “And besides, it would be nice if Tetia could stay away from the palace. It’s one thing with only me to try and discuss our views with Father and the others, but I want her to be happy for once, instead of being used for politics and to marry some man we’ve never heard about.”

“The woes of being royalty. I guess you humans have it tough as well.”

Raia said that as a joke, but immediately regretted his actions. That was something Patri would say, not a decent adult like him. However, he became calm once he met Lemiel’s eyes. His grin was rare, but Raia knew things were fine.

“Must be tough to be sleeping the entire day, mister Raia,” said Lemiel, without a hint of shame in his voice.

If getting along with humans meant this type of banter, then Raia supposed things wouldn’t be so bad.

  
  


🍀

_So that’s where my prince and miss Tetia come almost every day…._

Secré was not a stranger to her Prince’s weirds habits. From running away from his private quarters in the middle of the night to research the magic used in lamps, to saving random animals with healing magic, he was always doing something the other royals deemed absurd.

However, she was already used to it. And it was thanks to his “weird” personality that she came to cherish every moment spent with him, obligation or not.

That’s why it hurts a little to know the siblings were hiding things from her. She shook her head, trying to keep the thoughts away and tried to hide behind the tree again, “ _Anyone would keep this a secret,_ ” she thought, “ _Elves and humans don’t get along, and it seems miss Tetia is courting their leader. Of course he wouldn’t trust anyone out there…_ ”

It was still a frustrating feeling, though.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

She jumped. Out of nowhere, there was a voice of a boy by her side. Judging from his looks, the young elf was around her age and he didn’t look pleased with her presence. “Are you spying on us?!”

“I…”

She could see something similar to light magic. The boy kept yelling, “If you are not going to leave, then I’ll make you! You damn hum--!”

“Secré, is that you?!”

The voice of her prince caught her attention, and she turned her head to see both him and Tetia coming to her aid. The boy stopped casting his magic and turned to them as well, pointing at her, “You know this weird girl?”

She wasn’t amused at that comment, “You are weirder than me.”

“Say what!”

Secré crossed her arms, “Who would be stressed enough to attack someone without any warning or reason?”

“I have enough reason, you are a human! What other motive do I need!”

“Patri,” said Lemiel, voice calm as always, “This girl is my retainer and friend. She probably followed us here but you can trust her.”

The dark haired girl looked at her feet, embarrassed. She wasn’t trying to be found out, because in which world would a retainer follow her master around like this? No, that was stalking, basically. She wouldn’t be surprised if Lemiel became horrified at her after that.

Tetia nodded, “Yes, Secré is very reliable. We were waiting for an opportunity to ask everyone here if it was alright to bring her together with us, but I guess she won this small race?”

Her chuckle indicated that said siblings were far from being angry at her, but Secré still felt like she needed to make up to it somehow. They had plans to bring her along…?

The younger boy - Patri, he became quiet and muttered a small apology to the other humans and left the scene to join the leader that was far from them. He was apparently worried at his friends, and Secré could see the younger elf apologizing to him.

She didn’t have much to do besides bowing her head to Lemiel. She wasn’t exactly social like him or Tetia, so she decided to sit in the shade of a tree. There was a weird old man of an elf sleeping by her side, but she figured he wasn’t a threat.

It didn’t take long until Patri approached her, “Mister Licht told me to apologize.”

He wasn’t doing a good job at it, then. “It’s alright, anyone would be surprised at strangers trespassing their home.”

“Hn.”

The silence they fell into was kind of annoying, but it was at least something besides animosity. From their place, they could see Lemiel, Tetia and Licht trying to fish in the nearby lake, with the other elves making competitions and bets to see who would get more fish. The whole situation caught Secré by surprise - her prince was laughing as if he were any other boy of his age, hitting the elf leader with one fish that was too distressed in his hands. The latter got his revenge by throwing Lemiel into the lake. Somehow, he found a second family through the year when she wasn’t paying attention. Or maybe instead of second she should say a true one.

They returned each animal caught to the water, with a friendly atmosphere that neither Secré or Patri felt like they belonged to.

“It’s too much for me,” he said after a while.

Secré nodded, “I don’t like crowds.”

“Sounds like an irony, considering you work for that prince.”

She smiled at the comment, “It’s gratifying though.”

“What is?”

“Being able to stay by his side,” that was the first time Secré talked with a stranger for so long, “I’m not social or imaginative like he is. I don’t have big goals or energy to pursue them. But I feel like I can do something good with my life if I’m by his side. He is my inspiration. I think.”

Patri paused. “I understand the feeling,” he said, “Mister Licht is the same for me.”

“We are similar, in a way.”

“I guess.”

They didn’t reach a friendly relationship with each other, but found a common ground. Patri thought that humans were not so different at that moment. Maybe one day he could see how they were the same way Licht was seeing. Maybe having a best friend that is human, or work together with them, or maybe fall in love with one.

The last option, Patri thought, it was kind of ridiculous. But maybe one day he could meet them halfway.

**Author's Note:**

> I know the subbed group is using "Lumiere" and that was how I used to write as well, but his official profile says his name is written as "Lemiel" so I will go with it.
> 
> We don't have many works with those characters, so I decided to write a bit about them. I would love to get more canon material about them.


End file.
